Owl Mace Head
Unknown Artist
1st–5th century
Medium
Stone
Dimensions
H. 2 5/16 x W. 3 x D. 3 3/4 in. (5.8 x 7.6 x 9.5 cm)
Classification
Stone-Implements
Culture
Atlantic Watershed
Department
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
Accession Number
1979.206.1070
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking Owl Mace Head, carved from stone in the 1st–5th, hails from the Atlantic Watershed culture of Colombia's coastal regions. Measuring just 2 5/16 x 3 x 3 3/4 inches, this compact artifact was likely the business end of a ceremonial mace functional weapon or status symbol wielded by elites. Its zoomorphic form, meticulously sculpted to evoke an owl with keen eyes and detailed feathers, showcases the ancient sculptors' mastery of hard stone, transforming a utilitarian object into a vivid emblem of the natural world. In pre-Columbian societies of the Atlantic Watershed, such stone im...